Nov. 17, 2006

Box Score

SAN ANTONIO - Lawrencia Brown had 23 kills to lead four Bobcats in double figures, as Texas State knocked out UTSA 3-2 in the first round of the SLC Tournament in San Antonio. The win marked the second five-game decision over the Roadrunners this season, as the schools played three five-game matches this season.

Texas State (15-16) advanced by using a .267 hitting percentage, and UTSA (19-13) ended its season with four players in double-digits for kills and three more in digs, including a 33-dig performance from Erin McMillan and a 20-stop outing for Meagan Daniel.

Karry Griffin finished the night with 16 kills for Texas State while Kelly Fletcher had 14, and Amy Weigle rounded out the offensive group with 13 kills. Griffin led the `Cats up front, putting down a career-best 10 blocks for an unconventional double-double, while Brown, Fletcher and Erin Hickman each had 15 digs to complete double-doubles for the `Cats on the night. Hickman led the club at the net with 57 set assists.

Kacey Wimpy also added to the defensive effort, pitching in 12 digs, while Christina Melvin led the `Cats at the line with two aces.

Texas State scored five of the first seven in game five, and Fletcher blasted a kill through the middle of the Roadrunner defense to put the `Cats up 7-4 through 11 serves. A Weigle block switched sides in the game and made the score 8-5, but back-to-back UTSA scores on Bobcat errors put the game back within reach at 8-7.

Weigle put the Bobcats back in front by two with a kill at 9-7, and the Bobcats maintained the lead four serves later with a combined block from Brown and Griffin to go up 11-9. Another combined block, this time by Griffin and Hickman, gave Texas State a three-point lead at 12-9, and Texas State used another block and a UTSA attacking error to take a five-point lead at 14-9.

Brown enabled the Bobcats to advance on the 26th serve of the game, drilling a kill from the left side to win the game 15-9 and the match 3-2.

Texas State had to come from behind to win game one, falling back 27-23 on a Shannon Walker service ace, but the Bobcats used a 5-1 to erase UTSA's shot at a potential game point and tying the game at 28-all. The Bobcats went on to post the final two points, as Fletcher and Melvin notched kills for a 30-28 opening-game win and a 1-0 match lead.

UTSA returned the favor in game two, erasing a late 28-26 Bobcat lead to tie the game at 28-28, and a Bobcat attacking error earned UTSA a chance at game point with the score 29-28. The Roadrunners made good on the opportunity, as Brittany Hildebrand slammed a kill from DeeDee Strickland through the Texas State defense, winning the game 30-28 for the Runners and tying the match at 1-1.

UTSA would take a 2-1 lead in the match with a 30-25 game-three win, going up 17-11 on a Bobcat attacking error and extending the lead to nine on a Texas State ball handling error that made the score 19-11.

Texas State fired back to get within three, as Fletcher made the score 23-20 on an unassisted kill, but UTSA rolled off four of the next six points, taking a 27-22 lead with three points to play. The teams split the final six serves, but Daniel put UTSA on top 2-1 in the match with a kill that made the score 30-25, giving UTSA a chance to close the match in the fourth game.

The Roadrunners were not able to convert, however, as Texas State took a 15-11 lead early, notching the halfway point on a UTSA error. UTSA atoned for the miscue, scoring the next three to get within one, and after UTSA tied the game at 17-all, Texas State rolled off four-straight to go up 21-17, sparking a 12-1 run that put match point in Texas State's hands at 29-18.

UTSA delayed the win by a serve, as Brittany Hildebrand got a kill to pull back within 10, but Brown notched the first of two game-winning kills on the next play, giving Texas State a convincing 30-19 game-four victory and tying the match at 2-2.

The win enables Texas State to continue its season in San Antonio Saturday, as the Bobcats take on No. 1 Stephen F. Austin at 5 p.m. inside the Convocation Center. Last season, SFA and Texas State met in the semifinals, and the fourth-seeded Bobcats tripped the top-ranked Ladyjacks in three, ending a 23-match win streak for SFA and advancing the Bobcats to the tournament title match. Texas State won the tournament with a 3-0 win over UTSA.